Millennium Radio NJ to be sold

TRENTON, N.J. 
The owner of 11 New Jersey radio stations unveiled plans Monday to be acquired by a Los Angeles-based investor group.

Millennium Radio New Jersey will file an application with federal regulators to transfer its station licenses to Oaktree Capital Management, which has made a name for itself by purchasing debt and troubled assets and restructuring them.

Millennium is not disclosing the terms of the sale. The company has not yet discussed future operations with Oaktree in detail but doesn't anticipate any major staffing or format changes, said Millennium's chief financial officer, Wilson Dorward.

Millennium's flagship radio station, New Jersey 101.5, offers a talk and news format that focuses mainly on New Jersey issues. The group also operates music and sports stations, including FM stations WJLK, WOBM, WCHR, WSJO, WFPG, WENJ and WPUR; and AM stations WOBM, WADB and WENJ.

The deal calls for Millennium to be recapitalized by Oaktree-managed funds, strengthening Millennium's balance sheet and positioning it for growth as the advertising industry rebounds. Millennium's CEO, Bill Saurer, said in a statement that Millennium will benefit from a strong financial position and solid cash flow following the acquisition.

Industry analysts said the acquisition has seemed inevitable for years, as Millennium struggled with debt it accumulated from overpaying for stations acquired in the early 2000s. Tom Taylor, a former New Jersey broadcaster and the news editor of media blog Radio-Info.com, said he expects that Oaktree will eventually transfer Millennium's stations to a subsidiary called Townsquare Media. The Greenwich, Conn.-based broadcaster owns 171 radio stations and their websites.

"This actually brings to the table a new owner who is going to have more interest in deepening the financial resources available to the company, widen its reach in terms of digital media and social networking."

Dorward said Oaktree has not announced any intentions to transfer the New Jersey stations to Townsquare. But he noted that Millennium already uses the services of Triton Media Group, another Oaktree company and a major provider of digital and website services for radio stations.

Oaktree did not respond to a request for comment.

The investment conglomerate, which reports it holds more than $85 billion in assets, has been on a shopping spree in recent months, investing in furniture showrooms, oil shipping and home construction. The company is also one of the main creditors of the beleaguered Tribune Company, owner of the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and numerous television stations.